For anyone looking for a bougie London stay over the holidays, The Bentley Hotel is hard beaten. After all, it is located in the heart of the affluent borough of Kensington, home to the iconic luxury department store Harrods, stylish streets of Chelsea and of course, Kensington Palace.

Upon entering the lobby, guests are inundated with tall, gold accented ceilings, gallery landings, throne-like chairs, lavish rugs and the kind of chandeliers you’d find in the ballroom scene of Beauty and the Beast. Combined with the wafts of steaming mulled wine that fragrance the air, I defy you to not immediately become reluctant to check-out.

The delicious smell is travelling in from the grand brasserie, which caters for breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea. The space is drenched in gold décor and the windowed-ceiling allows for a pleasant natural light to flood in during the day. For December, the Bentley are hosting a festive afternoon tea. The sweet sultana scones accompanied by raspberry jam and clotted cream, and the melt-in-the-mouth chocolate and orange tart, are certainly not to be missed.

Once comfortably full, I recommend a visit to the hotel spa which is decorated with delicate hand paintings and glimmering marble. Choose from the numerous treatments available and revel in the feeling of your holiday-time anxieties melting away. I opted for the ‘Winter Renewal’ treatment and the novelty of how unbelievably smooth the salt scrub left my skin is yet to wear off.

As for the bedrooms, they are as luxe as the rest of the hotel; I stayed in a periwinkle haven with views of the city skyline. Trying to leave the comfort of my satin fortress as the visit came to an end, was the only negative part of staying at The Bentley.